Marduk - Rom 5:12   

A new direction but still the Marduk we love

Who are you and what have you done with the real Marduk? You know the Marduk I mean don't you? They were band whose albums rarely took a breath from their relentless 250bpm+ speed assaults. Well the operative word in that sentence was “were” because with Rom 5:12 we see the Marduk we all know and love taking a somewhat different approach to their music.

It is undeniable that Rom 5:12 is different in many ways to the band's prior works but it isn't quite as big a change as you may have been led to believe. There are still plenty of moments where the band unleash their notorious brand of hyper-fast blasting, it's just that they have diversified their sound and added a variety of more mid paced tracks into the mix. The end result is a balanced album that offers the listener a more varied experience.

Where this album really excels is not so much in its diversity but through the sense it gives the listener that the band are striving for new heights. To clarify that point, I think many would agree that over the course of their previous nine studio albums the band have consistently shown that they are more than capable of handling furiously paced black metal whilst nary breaking a sweat. What Rom 5:12 shows us is a band that are pushing themselves out of their well established comfort zone into new territory, perhaps to the chagrin of their more hardened fans.

On slower numbers such as opening track The Levelling Dust and Imago Mortis not only does Marduk bring the pace down to midrange levels, but they are also able to incorporate a sense of rhythm and even groove which is a pleasant though completely unexpected surprise. Further on in the album we reach perhaps the most contentious track of all, Accuser/Opposer, which features clean vocals courtesy of guest vocalist Naihmass Nemtheanga from Ireland's Primordial. It is a slow and plodding track that oozes the same hate and ugliness that you would expect from Marduk but in a completely different fashion to what we are accustomed to.

Though the inclusion of more mid paced material is welcome and is generally pulled off with great success, the album does shine brighter through the more traditional tracks simply because of guitarist Morgan's riffs. It is clear that this is the kind of music he is used to writing and it may be that his forays into slower material may simply be his first baby steps into developing a more rounded repertoire. If this is the case then I have little doubt that if Marduk continues down this path then we will see better and better mid paced songs in the future.

The other area that may cause a few shakes of disapproval is the production which is a little thin for my tastes. It is amply clear yet lacks some of the punch that I would have expected. This is especially evident through both the guitars and the drums that both sound a little too tinny and somewhat weak to my ears. Nonetheless the album still sounds good and is not marred by any murky instrumentation.

Marduk could very well find themselves at a crossroads with Rom 5:12. In one fell swoop they may have both gained new fans with their more diverse approach and could have alienated their more hardened fans with their diversion from their well established sound. Putting all of that aside, I for one have enjoyed listening to this new approach from the black metal veterans and have a feeling that this album will see them reach new heights of popularity.

(Regain Records/Riot! Distributors)

Added: August 10th 2007
Reviewer: Michael O'Brien
Score:
Related Link: Official Website
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